Of Broken Things
by kressn
Summary: A little story about Mac and Jack and their connection to each other. This is my first FanFiction Story.


Of Broken Things

Mac was suddenly very tired; the kind of tired that made one simply want to hide from the World, under the covers and sleep for days. He wished he could sleep without nightmares, but every time he closed his eyes he saw Murdoc's face and he was back in that windowless room with that demented killer.

Mac sighted, he rubbed his eyes and yawned. He looked out his kitchen window and realized the rain had finally stopped falling so he decided he would go out to the shed and bring out the lawnmower; he figured he might as well do something "normal" rather than try to take a nap that would only end in another nightmare.

He sat on the lawnmower, music playing in his ears through the wireless buds, loudly tuning out the rest of the World, if at least for a little while. It was hot outside, humidity was not normally a big issue in California, but lately they had gotten a lot of rain which made it very muggy outside. He probably should have brought water out with him he thought, but he kept mowing, figured he could just finish quickly instead of stopping to go find some water.

Jack was driving to Mac's house, he was worried about the kid. He knew that Mac had not been sleeping very well lately. The tell-tale signs of exhaustion were evident on Mac's face, his movements even, were a bit slower than usual, although Jack doubted anyone but him, and maybe Bozer, noticed. He sighed, he was not sure how to help Mac sometimes, it was hard to get through those nearly impenetrable walls the kid liked to put up to keep people away. He decided he would stop for pizza before getting to Mac's house, maybe he could at least make the kid eat something, which he did not do much of either.

Mac was still on the mower an hour later. He made to turn right around a bush when suddenly the World tilted on its axis and flipped flopped. He hit the mower's brakes and closed his eyes, trying to keep the accompanying nausea under control. He was suddenly aware it was hard to breathe, his lungs felt heavy and full at the same time. He made the mistake of shaking his head, which just made the World fade in and out again, adding grey spots to his line of sight and making his stomach turn. He sat there for a minute until he could tell up from down and then decided the rest of the lawn could wait and he started towards the shed to put the mower away and head inside.

Once in the shed he dismounted the mower and found that he had to hold on to the steering wheel as the room shifted around him. He waited until things came back into focus and walked back into the house, slowly. He evidently should have gone in for some water he thought. He entered through the back door into the kitchen, stopping to enjoy the nice cool air from the back door's AC vent which for some reason always seemed to blow colder than the others in the house. He closed his eyes for a second, a mistake evidently, because that brought the dizziness back full-force and the nausea. He barely made it to the downstairs bathroom and proceeded to release everything he had eaten that day, that week, that month even.

Jack pulled into Mac's driveway and grabbed the pizza and beer he had stopped to get on the way down. He let himself in, just as he always did, and yelled "Hey Mac! Where you at kiddo! I've got pizza and beer". He frowned when he did not receive a response, putting his keys and the pizza and beer down on the kitchen counter he listened for Mac, yelling again, "Mac! You in here bud?" He started walking towards the deck when he heard the unmistakable sounds of someone puking their brains out in the bathroom. "Mac?" he yelled as he pushed the door open not waiting for invitation.

Mac could hear Jack yelling for him but he could not really answer him for he was too busy hugging the toilet and disposing of everything he had ever eaten. He was pretty sure he even threw up the peanut butter covered Easter Peeps Bozer made him eat in 4th grade on a dare. The bathroom was flip flopping too which was not helping things either, when did he get a tilting bathroom? He thought irrationally and giggled right before another wave of nausea hit him and he returned to puking his brains out.

"Mac! Jack yelled startling the kid who Jack found hugging the toilet bowl and effectively dry-heaving at this point, since there was likely nothing left in the kid's stomach at this point. The kid was both red-faced and pale, interesting, Jack did not realize someone could be both, breathing like a 90-year old chain smoker and visibly shaking. "Dammit!" he said as he went down to his knees and grabbed one of Mac's shoulders, "Mac, are you OK? What is going on?" When he got no response, he got up and grabbed a towel, opened the sink and ran it under cold water, returning to run it across the kid's face in an effort to both get his attention and to help clean him up some.

Mac felt Jack's hand on his shoulder and he knew Jack was asking him something, but for the life of him, he could neither make out what the question was, nor did he really care at that moment, all Mac wanted was for the bathroom to stop spinning and for his stomach to stop trying to exit his body through his mouth. Suddenly he felt something wet and wonderfully cool on his face and the back of his neck, whatever that was, it was the most wonderful thing he ever felt, they should really sell whatever that was he thought, they would make a fortune, and giggled.

Jack heard Mac giggle and raised an eyebrow, he was sure the kid was not tracking to him even been there with him. "OK kiddo, I don't know what is going on, but it looks like you're done puking your brains out and you don't look so good, so I'm going to help you to the couch and we can then figure out what the heck is going on, OK?" Jack said, more to himself he knew, and for his own benefit than for Mac's since the kid was not even truly conscious at this point. "Up we go kiddo!" he said as he manhandled Mac up off the bathroom floor, eliciting a grunt of pain from Mac as well as causing Mac to hold out an arm in a valiant effort to find the bathroom wall to help steady himself.

"It's OK Mac, I've got you kiddo, Let me do all the work, OK?" Jack said as he bent down to place an arm behind Mac's knees and lifted his friend, bridal style, and proceeded to carry him to the couch; not missing just how light his friend felt in his arms. He did not know what this little episode was all about, but once Mac was feeling better, Jack was going to have to stage a food intervention for the kid to make him understand eating is not truly an optional pastime, and that he needed to do it at least 3 times a day like normal people.

Mac felt himself lifted off the floor by a pair of strong arms. The room was spinning furiously at this point and he had his eyes closed, but he knew instinctively that it was Jack. "Jack?" he managed to say as he felt himself be placed down on the couch with the care someone would have with a very loved and fragile thing. That made Mac smile, he knew Jack loved him, he was more than his friend, he was a father to him and in times like these, when Jack went all parental on him, although usually Mac protested that he did not need "parenting" at 26, he still found solace and strength in the knowledge that Jack was there, always, strong, unwavering, kind and with so much love for Mac it spewed out of his every pore.

"Yeah kiddo, it's me" Jack said, "You back with me?" Jack asked. He had placed Mac on the couch and had his right hand on the kid's forehead, it felt clammy and warm, too warm; his other hand was on the kid's wrist checking his pulse which was too fast. Jack was tittering between trying to figure out what the heck was wrong with Mac and calling Mattie to have Medical descend on Mac's house like Locus. "Hey! Mac! You hear me?" he asked again.

Mac turned his head towards Jack's voice and slowly opened his eyes, taking a deep breath and waiting for Jack's face to change from a blurry mess to a coherent figure of his best friend's face. After what seemed like forever, he was finally in focus and he smiled. "Hey Jack!" was all that came out for some reason, dumb he knew, but his brain was not running on all thrusters evidently.

Jack rolled his eyes at the kid. "Hey Jack, that is all you're going to say?" "What the hell is going on Mac?" Jack yelled, the kid jumped, Jack sighed, he did not mean to startle his friend. "Sorry, I did not mean to yell" he said, taking a breath and getting control of his own emotions for a second before going on; "Mac, what is wrong, why were you on the bathroom floor throwing up you last 2 years' worth of meals? "Why is your face so red"?

Mac's head was still a bit fuzzy, but he could tell how worried Jack was. He had dropped to his knees beside him on the couch and was holding one of his hands. "I'm sorry Jack, I did not mean to scare you" he said, "I was outside mowing the lawn and it was hot, I should have brought water out with me but I didn't" Mac said, stopping to take a breath, "I guess I just got over-heated and next thing I know I was dizzy and nauseated" Mac closed his eyes, waiting for the storm that was Jack's temper to offer up the tirade he knew was coming, and honestly he knew he deserved. Going out there without water was stupid.

Jack ran his hand over his face, trying to keep his temper in check. Mac was the smartest person he knew, but sometimes he hadn't the common sense God gave a gnat. He was not sleeping, he was barely eating. Mac was exhausted both physically and emotionally, so instead of staying inside and maybe trying to eat something and take a nap, he decides to go out in 102◦ heat with 100% humidity without any water. He was not a patient man by nature, and Mac sometimes managed to really push the boundaries of what little patience he did have.

"OK, so you this is heat stroke" Jack ran a hand through Mac's hair. "We can deal with that" OK kiddo I am going to go draw a cool bath for you, while I'm gone I want you to drink some water which I will bring you, you will drink slow and steady sips, you hear me?" Jack waited for Mac to nod in agreement before he continued. "I don't want you to move from this couch until I come get you, got it?" Jack said in a voice that was filled with both love and authority.

Mac nodded again and breathed a sigh of relief, Jack was evidently not in a ranting mood, which was fine with Mac, since his headache had just reached nuclear proportions and he honestly did not have the energy to banter with his friend right now. All Mac wanted to do is take something for his headache, take a shower or bath apparently and go to bed; every muscle was currently aching and although his stomach had finally settled the room was still flip flopping at times, which made tracking what Jack was saying a bit difficult. He was startled out of his reverie by a glass of water being shoved in his face with Jack's "Drink!" command as part of the process. Mac took the glass and with Jack's help sat up enough to where he could drink the water without choking on it, although the movement made the room flip again. He bit his lip though and held the groan that threatened to escape. He had gotten away without one of Jack's rants once, he doubted he would be so lucky a second time if Jack knew just how dizzy he truly was. He managed a "thanks Jack" and took the water glass with shaky hands. He nodded at Jack's "don't move" reminder and sat there sipping the wonderfully cool water, trying to remember to do so slowly as to not have a repeat performance of his earlier nausea.

Jack went to Mac's room and grabbed some shorts and a T-Shirt for the kid to change into, he then headed to the kid's bathroom and opened the bathtub's faucet to run some cold water and waited for the tub to fill. As he stood there he was trying to figure out how he was going to help Mac. Obviously he was not thinking clearly or he would have never exposed himself to heat-stroke by doing something so dumb as to not take or stop for water when working out in the heat. That was not like Mac. He was startled out of his thoughts by his cell phone; he looked and it was Bozer. He answered it and had a quick chat with Mac's other best friend. He told Bozer about what Mac had done and what Jack was doing now to help. Bozer was at his mom's but had called because he was worried about Mac spending the weekend alone and was going to ask Jack to stop by. Good thing he had evidently. Jack agreed he would keep an eye on Mac and hung up. The tub was full, he turned the water off and headed back to find his boy.

"Ready kiddo?" Jack asked as he approached the couch. Mac nodded and started to work his way up to a standing position. "Easy Mac, slow and easy" Jack said grabbing hold of the kid's arms to help steady him as he swayed. Mac turned 2 shades south of sheet-white and had closed his eyes, swallowing hard, it was obvious the change in position made the nausea return and made the kid dizzy as hell. "You OK there Mac?" Jack asked as he held on to Mac two arms, basically keeping the kid upright.

Mac's world started to spin the minute he stood. It was an unpleasant sensation to have everything spin and flip flop at the same time. He could feel his stomach turn as well, the nausea threatening to reappear with a vengeance. He swallowed hard a few times in an effort to stop himself from puking on Jack's shoes, not that there could possibly be anything left in his stomach after his earlier reenactment of a college Freshman's Spring Break's night out. He knew Jack was supporting basically all of his weight right now, but he could not bring his legs to work just yet, they felt like noodles and he could not really open his eyes due to the spinning room thing, so at this point he figured Jack holding him up was better than him face-planting on the floor.

"You with me kid?" He heard Jack ask. He felt Jack's hand on his face and one on the back of his neck, like an anchor. Mac opened his eyes slowly, the room's turning had slowed down enough to allow him to leave them open and not feel like he was on some demented carnival ride. He blinked at Jack and nodded, still not trusting opening his mouth for fear of puking again. He felt Jack tug in the direction of his room, so he started the long and clumsy walk towards his bathroom where he knew a nice cool bath and a comfortable, hopefully non-spinning bed would be his reward.

After what seemed an eternity Jack had managed to get the kid into the bathtub, having to have helped him out of his clothes for the kid could not manage to stand without swaying yet. Mac let out a breath of relief as he felt himself hit the nice cool water in the tub. His eyes drifted shut and Jack was slightly worried the kid may sink under the water if he was left alone, so Jack sat at the edge of the tub and kept a hand on the kid's shoulder to make sure he remained above water. He had enough grey hairs due to Mac's little adventures, he did not need any from Mac's near-drowning. He let the kid sit in the cool water for about 15 minutes, then he used the hand he had on Mac's shoulder to give the kid a slight shake. "Hey Mac, come on kiddo, time to get out" Mac opened his eyes to look at Jack and blinked. "You ready to get out kid?" Jack asked, "Before you start to look like an old prune". Mac seemed slow to track but was at least tracking enough to eventually nod at him in agreement. Jack waited for Mac to move though and when he didn't he slid his arm around the back of the kid's shoulders and pulled up, keeping his other hand on Mac's left forearm, guiding him up and out of the tub. Mac was pliable and silent, not good signs in Jack's book but at this point he needed to get the kid dry, dressed and in bed. He will fight one battle at a time for now.

Jack got the kid dressed in the short and T-Shirt, one of Jack's old Army Tees he noticed. Mac was always stealing his shirts, it was sweet and funny since Jack was much bigger than Mac in muscle mass and girth, but the kid seemed to like wearing Jack's old tees, so Jack made it a point to buy extras so he could um.. forget them at Mac's house often. Once Mac was dressed the older man guided the kid to his bed and got him settled. Mac was out like a light, probably even before his head actually connected with the pillow. Jack sighed again, and rubbed his face with his hand. He looked down at the sleeping Mac and could not help but think something was broken inside Mac, something that was going to be hard to fix. Jack and Mac were going to have to have a little chat about many things, soon. This could not continue like this, Mac not sleeping, not eating, not thinking things through.

His boy was going to be OK. He knew it was going to be take a while. Getting through Mac's defensive walls alone would take time, but once those came down, at least enough to let Jack in, Jack was going to make it so that Mac understood that he was not alone, that he mattered and that no matter how many things "broke" in the process of living, there was always a way to put them back together. Maybe not as good as before, maybe just a little off center at times, but enough to still be OK. He let himself out of Mac's room leaving the door ajar so he could hear when Mac's inevitable nightmares began and walked out to the kitchen to have some of that pizza he brought, he was starving and he was going to need all his energy to handle his boy's issues when he awoke. He sighed, it was going to be along weekend.

5


End file.
